Posts Tagged ‘installing joomla’

Joomla is one of the most powerful content management systems available and as a standard installation will provide webmasters with an application through which they can manage their websites without having to constantly update multiple pages, but there is also the opportunity to expand the application through the use of third-party plugins. As Joomla is an open source application, you won’t have to pay a penny to use it meaning that it is ideal for big businesses as well as not-for-profit organizations. It is recommended that you combine Joomla with a low cost web hosting service such as a Linux shared web hosting plan as by doing this, you will be able to save yourself quite a bit of money.

Downloading Joomla

To download Joomla, you will first need to navigate to the Joomla website, which is located at www. Joomla.org; from there you will want to click the “Download” button.

You will then be presented with different options depending on the version that you wish to use; unless you have a reason to use an older version, it is recommended that you choose the latest version to ensure that any security issues that have been raised with previous versions have been patched.

To commence with the file download, simple click the “ZIP” text located next to the specific package that you wish to use. You can then simply save the file to your desktop.

The extracted root folder structure should be similar to the one below.

Uploading the Joomla Files to Your Web Space

Once you have downloaded the Joomla files to your desktop and extracted the ZIP file, you will want to upload the uncompressed files to your web space so that you can commence with the installation of the application.

You will also need to setup a MySQL database through your web hosting control panel prior to running the installation wizard so that your Joomla installation will have a central location in which it can store all of its configuration data.

Once you have uploaded the contents to your web space, you should navigate to the folder that Joomla is contained in through your web browser. You will be directed to the page below.

Once you have selected the language that you wish to use, click the “Next” button.

From there you will then be taken to a page that will carry out checks to ensure that your web hosting environment is capable of running Joomla properly.

If any errors occur then the installation wizard will provide you with the instructions that will direct you on how to solve individual errors. If there are no errors then you should be able to click the “Next” button to continue with the installation.

You will then need to agree to the GNU license, which governs the use of certain open source applications and is applicable to the use of Joomla.

Next, you will need to enter your MySQL database connection details so that Joomla can function properly.

You will be required to enter the following details:

Host name – this is the name or IP address of the server on which your Joomla database is going to be hosted

Username – you should configure a separate MySQL user account other than the root user to improve security

Password – all MySQL user accounts should be password protected as to ensure that hackers and other malicious attackers aren’t able to gain unauthorized entry.

After that and depending on the web hosting service that you are using, you may need to enter your FTP login details.

You can simply skip this step by clicking the “Next” button if it doesn’t apply to you. If it does apply to you then you will need to enter the following details:

FTP username – this should be an FTP account that is separate from the main one that you use to upload your main content to your website and should be limited to the Joomla directory for added security

FTP root path – this is the root path to the location of where Joomla is installed in your web space.

You will then need to enter the main configuration details for your Joomla website as the connection to the database has now been established.

To create a site that suits your needs, you should fill out the following information fields appropriately:

Site name – this should be the name of your company or related to the topic of the website that you wish to create

Your email – you should enter a valid email address as this will be used to reset the admin password if you happen to forget it

Admin username – your username doesn’t have to be “admin”, you can set it to be anything that you want

Sample data – you can even choose to install sample data, a practice that is recommended if you are a beginner, which will give you an idea on how Joomla works if you haven’t use the CMS before.

Once you have set out the main configuration to meet your needs, you can then proceed to use the application as you wish. It is recommended that you remove the installation folder so that no further amendments can be made to your configuration, except by yourself through the admin area.

Once you have completed the configuration wizard, you will then be taken to the admin control panel, from which you will be able to configure the application further.

In conclusion, Joomla is a powerful CMS that can be used in a number of different scenarios to meet the requirements of big businesses and individuals who require a reliable framework on which they can develop stable websites capable of coping with high visitor loads without facing any issues. Although there are many open source CMS solutions available, Joomla is able to provide businesses with a custom solution that can be modified further through the use of a plugin framework that can be used to extend the functionality of the application, along with a styling framework that can be used to develop additional themes and designs to enable the application to fit in alongside existing websites.